THE  CORNELL  CHIME 


REDEDICATION 
OCTOBER,  1908 


THIS  CHIME  WAS  MANUFACTURED  BY 

Meneely  &  Co. 

ANDREW  H.  MENEELY,  President 

1535-1537  BROADWAY,  WATERVLIET,  N.  Y.,  U.  S.  A. 

FORMERLY  WEST  TROY,  N.  Y. 
Successor  to  the 

Old  Meneely  Bell  Foundry  Business 

ESTABLISHED  1826 


THE  CORNELL  CHIME 


ANDREW  DICKSON  WHITE 


A  brief  History  of  the  Bells  4>_  ""**>* 

4  me 


»»9  ^ 


TOGETHER  WITH  SOME  DESCRIPTION  AND  THE  PROGRAMS  OF  THE  CONCERTS  AT 
THEIR    REDEDICATION,  OCTOBER,  1908 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/cornellchimebrieOOwhit 


THE    BELIES    ON   THEIR    FRAME    IN    THE    FOUNDRY  Copyright  1905,  F.   P.  Lotz 


THE  CORNELL  UNIVERSITY  BELLS 


Amid  all  the  doubts  and  worries  of  the  early  days  of  Cornell  University  nothing 
inspired  more  hope  and  cheer  than  the  gift  of  its  chime.  It  came  most  unexpectedly. 
On  a  pleasant  September  morning  there  appeared,  in  the  little  public  library  which  Mr. 
Cornell  had  founded  in  Ithaca,  Miss  Jennie  McGraw,  who,  finding  President  White  at 
work  among  the  newly  arrived  books  temporarily  stored  there,  asked  him  some  kindly 
questions  and  was  shown  some  of  the  volumes  most  likely  to  interest  her.  Next  day  word 
reached  the  President  that  she  was  greatly  pleased  with  what  she  had  seen  and  wished  to 
make  to  the  new  institution  some  gift  showing  this  feeling.  The  result  was  a  suggestion 
from  him  to  the  late  Judge  Finch  that  such  a  gift  might  take  the  form  of  a  chime  of 
bells,  and  the  Judge,  entering  into  this  idea  fully,  conveyed  it  to  the  young  lady,  who 
instantly  accepted  it. 

One  great  difficulty  stood  in  the  way.  Only  about  a  fortnight  remained  before  the 
formal  opening  of  the  University,  at  which  a  great  concourse  of  men  of  light  and  leading 
from  all  parts  of  the  union  was  to  be  present.  But  the  order  was  at  once  given  by  tele- 
graph to  the  old  Meneely  firm  at  Watervliet,  near  Troy,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  6th 
of  October,  1868,  the  bells,  having  been  placed  in  a  temporary  wooden  tower  on  the  site 
of  the  present  library,  were  formally   rung   for  the   first   time,  addresses  being  made  by 


Judge  Finch,  Senator  Andrews,  Lieutenant-Governor  Woodford,  Mr.  Weaver,  state  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction,  Professor  Agassiz  and   Mr.  George  William  Curtis. 

The  chime  then  consisted  of  nine  bells  in  the  key  of  G,  bearing  a  gift  inscription  and 
the  following  from  Tennyson's  "In  Memoriam,"  cvi  : 

Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new  ; 
Ring  out  the  faese,  ring  in  the  true. 

Ring  out  the  grief  that  saps  the  mind, 
Ring  in  redress  to  aee  mankind. 

Ring  out  a  seowly  dying  cause, 

And  ancient  forms  of  party  strife  : 

Ring  in  the  nobeer  modes  of  eife 
With  sweeter  manners,  purer  eaws. 

Ring  out  false  pride  in  peace  and  beood  ; 
Ring  in  the  common  eove  of  good. 

Ring  out  the  seander  and  the  spite  ; 
Ring  in  the  eove  of  truth  and  right. 

Ring  out  the  narrowing  eust  of  goed, 
Ring  out  the  thousand  wars  of  oed. 

Ring  out  oed  shapes  of  foue  disease; 
Ring  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace. 


Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free. 

The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier  hand  ; 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land  ; 

Ring  in  the  Christ  that  is  to  be. 

One  year  later,  a  tenth  bell,  weighing  nearly  five  thousand  pounds,  in  the  key  of  D, 
was  added  by  the  President  of  the  University  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Mary  A.  White,  bearing, 
in  addition  to  her  name,  inscriptions  as  follows,  the  quatrain  being  written  for  the  bell 
by  James  Russell  Lowell,  who  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  non-resident  professors  of  the 
University.  The  significance  of  his  verse  and  of  the  selection  from  the  psalms  was 
derived  from  the  fact  that  the  bell  was  to  become  the  clock  bell  of  the  University  on 
which  the  hours  were  to  be  struck. 

"TO   TELL   OF   THY    LOVING-KINDNESS    EARLY    IN   THE    MORNING 

And  of  thy  truth  in  the  night-season/' 

"Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men." 

I  call  as  fly  the  irrevocable  hours, 
Futile  as  air  or  strong  as  fate  to  make 
Your  lives  of  sand  or  granite  ;  awful  powers, 
Even  as  men  choose,  they  either  give  or  take. 


CASES    AND    CORES    IN   THE    FOUNDRY 


Photo  by  F.  P.  Eotz 


THE  REBUILT  CHIME 

In  June,  1908,  the  bells  were  taken  down  by  Meneely  &  Co.,  of  Watervliet,  N.  Y., 
successors  to  the  firm  that  supplied  the  original  ten  bells,  and  were  shipped  back  to  the 
foundry  whence  they  came.  There  the  chime  was  reconstructed  to  bring  the  number  of 
bells  to  fourteen.  Each  of  the  old  bells  was  dropped  one  tone  in  name.  That  is,  the 
largest  bell,  which  was  formerly  called  D,  but  which  was  D  flat,  international  pitch,  was 
called  C,  concert  pitch,  and  the  largest  bell  of  the  nine  bells  given  by  Jennie  McGraw, 
called  G,  became  F.  These  two  bells  were  not  recast  and  are  the  original  bells  with  their 
dedicatory  inscriptions  in  relief  upon  them.  The  other  bells  are  new  or  recast  and  have 
their  inscriptions  engraved  upon  them.  The  new  inscriptions,  on  the  upper  four  bells  are 
as  follows  : 

THE  HUMAN  MIND  BEAUTY 

On  Earth  there  is  nothing  great  but  Man  a  thing  of  Beauty  is  a  Joy  forever. 


In  Man  there  is  nothing  great  but  Mind. 
KNOWLEDGE 


VIRTUE 
Whatsoever  things  are 
True,  Honest,  Just,  Pure,  Lovely, 
Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth   Wisdom  of  Good  Report; 

And  the  man  that  getteth  Understanding.  if  there  be  any  Virtue,  and  Praise, 

think  on  these  things. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BELLS 

The  chime  is  approximately  in  the  key  of  C,  concert  pitch,  as  follows 


c 

D 

E 

F 

n 

G 

A 

Bb 

B 

C 

c# 

D 

E 

F 

I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

IO 

ii 

12 

i3 

14 

With  this  series  of  bells,  airs  may  be  played  in  the  keys  of  C,  G,  D  and  F  major,  and 
in  their  relative  minors.     This  gives  the  chime  an  exceptionally  wide  range. 
The  weights  of  the  several  bells  are  : 

C 4830  lbs.  G 1350  lbs.  C# 554  lbs. 

D 3167     "  A 950     "  D 472     " 

E 2151     "  Bb 799     "  E 336     " 

F 1720     "  B 683     "  F 310     " 

F# 1579     "  C 595     "  Total 19496     " 

With  the  frame,  mountings,  and  complete  appliance,  the  weight  aggregates  over  twenty- 
six  thousand  pounds. 

It  is  believed  that  as  now  reconstituted,  the  Cornell  chime  represents  the  ideal  equip- 
ment for  its  purpose.  The  number  and  weight  of  the  bells  are  such  as  to  allow  of  a  great 
variety  in  programs  and  to  insure  richness  of  tone  and  great  carrying  power. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  chime  could  be  further  changed  for  the  better.  More 
bells  or  greater  weight  would  give  little  advantage.  With  more  bells  the  difference  in 
quality  between  the  small  and  large  bells  would  be  unpleasantly  noticeable.  If  the  bells 
were  all  larger  and  the  general  pitch  lowered  in  consequence,  the  bells  could  be  heard  no 
farther  away,  and  many  of  the  most  beautiful  tunes  would  be  played  in  too  low  a  key. 
With  the  present  set  of  bells,  the  chime  in  the  tower  of  the  Cornell  University  Library 
leaves  little  to  be  desired. 


CHIMING   STAND    IN    CORNELL    UNIVERSITY    LIBRARY   TOWER 


PROGRAMS  OF  INAUGURAL  CONCERTS 

BY    IT.    G.    BUI,!.,    '08,    CHIMKMASTKR 


SUNDAY,  OCTOBER  18,   1908 


Ein'  Feste  Burg 
America 
Alma  Mater 
Flemming 


10:35  A.  M. 

Holy,  Holy,  Holy 
Portuguese  Hymn 
Love  Divine 
Old  Hundred 


Jubilate  Deo 
The  Holy  City 
My  Faith  Looks  up 
to  Thee 


2:55  P.  M. 

Peace 

O  Jesus,  Thou  Art 
Standing 


Face  to  Face 


MONDAY,  OCTOBER  19,  1908 


7:45    A.  M. 


i  :oo  p   m. 


Cornell  Changes 
Morgenroth 
The  Mermaid 


Spanish  Cavalier 
Santa  Lucia 


5:30  p- 
Alma  Mater 

0  Mistress  Mine 

1  Arise  from  Dreams  of 

Thee 
Killarney 


Cornell  Changes 

Alma  Mater 

The  Big  Red  Team 

M. 

All  through  the  Night 
Land  o'  the  Leal 
Sweet  and  Low 
Alumni  Song 
The  Evening  Song 


Cornell 

Song  of  the  Classes 

Crew  vSong 


PRACTICE    CHIMING    STAND 

(At  present  in  Goldwin  Smith  Hall. 


# 


# 


€f^ 


PRESS    OF 

ANDRUS    i.    CHURCH 

ITHACA,    N.  Y. 


;<0 


